DRAG RACING wasn’ t something Mellie Snedeker was born into – it was something she discovered, chased, and built a life around. Now 29, she’ s carved out a space in the creative side of the sport, using photography, writing, and social media to tell the stories behind some of drag racing’ s biggest moments.

Snedeker’ s father and brother had an interest in cars, and the family had an old Monte Carlo project car, but drag racing wasn’ t in the cards. She shared her family’ s interest in cars and checked out local car shows before eventually checking out a test-and-tune session at her local track, then known as Skyview Drags. Through that, she met Mike and Robin Thompson, which opened the door attending the monthly Strange Engineering Outlaw Street Car Shootouts and Yellowbullet Nationals at Cecil County Dragway.“ Once I saw what cars could really do at a track like Cecil, I was permanently hooked,” Snedeker says.

A friend let Snedeker borrow his Canon 1D camera to shoot his car, sending her down the photography rabbit hole, and interest that reached a new level when she shot the 2018 PRI Show in Indianapolis. It’ s where she realized photography could lead to something more, as she notched her first-ever sale and networked with Street Outlaws stars Jeff“ AZN” Bonnett and Sean“ Farmtruck” Whitley and photographer Lou Renova, who helped her get started with some photography and social media online courses.“ I owe so much to those two for giving me the confidence and knowledge to get off the ground.”

Today, Snedeker shoots a variety of drag racing events, primarily in the Pro Mod and drag radial niches.“ As we all know, Pro Mods are where it’ s at,” she says.“ Yellowbullet will always have a place in my heart, with that event and track being where I got my start and first fell in love with the sport.”

In recent years, Snedeker has also expanded into writing, giving her another storytelling medium and the opportunity to reach new audiences.“ Having my first article featured in Drag Illustrated about Skyview Drags was a proud moment,” Snedeker says.“ I went out on a limb pitching the idea and asking if I could write it. Seeing it in print was unreal.”

Snedeker loves getting a wild action shot, but she also focuses on the humans behind the machines.“ The people of this sport are some of the most passionate I have ever met,” she says.“ They pour it into their race program, media outlet, however they’ re involved, and I try to showcase that passion and commitment as much as possible.”

In fact, connecting with the people of drag racing has been one of Snedeker’ s biggest accomplishments over the last few years.“ I struggle with shyness and I feel I’ ve been doing really well overcoming that,” she says.“ Walking up to people I may not know very well and having to talk with them or take a photo is honestly one of the most anxiety-inducing parts about my role in racing media, and it’ s something I plan to continue to work on.”

With encouragement and guidance from a wide support system, Snedeker has grown and evolved in many ways since she first strolled through the gates at a dragstrip. A niche of that support system can be found in the tightknit group of media members that travel with the Red Line Oil PDRA Series.

“ The entire PDRA media team is unlike any other,” Snedeker says, specifically noting the mentorship she received from David Hilner and Jason Reiss.“ We support each other, provide each other content, bounce ideas off each other. We truly build each other up selflessly. That’ s hard to find in this highly competitive industry.

“ My parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles all pooled money together to help me buy my

first full-frame camera and laptop so I could dive right in while I was in graduate school to become a school psychologist,” she adds.“ They supported me leaving my‘ safe’ job to pursue work in racing full-time.”

Snedeker, who hopes to someday participate in the sport as a racer, continues to find new ways to cover the sport. Building on the social media management skills she developed while working for Butner Motorsports and 2023 DI 30 Under 30 honoree Marcus Butner, Snedeker recently took on a new social media position with Dragzine. It’ s part of an effort to scale back exposure to the elements that aggravate a medical condition while still contributing to drag racing’ s storytelling.

“ With a diagnosis of dysautonomia, being out on the track in the hot sun for 14-plus hours a day or freezing temps in spring and fall is becoming less tolerable,” she says.“ I’ ll never stop taking photos, but I do need to start becoming more mindful of what I shoot and how long I’ m outside. Writing and social media allow me to still be involved in the sport in a way I love, while taking care of myself and my health.”

– NATE VAN WAGNEN DI

PHOTO: COLE THOMAS